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Hate Crime Legislation Review

I have been appointed by the Scottish Ministers to undertake a review of hate crime legislation in Scotland. The review will take me around twelve months during which time I will seek to recognise and understand the impact that hate crime has on individuals and communities.

The review’s consultation exercise closed on 23 November 2017. I would like to express my thanks to all those who took the time to respond to the consultation. We are now analysing the responses received, and will take these into account as I prepare my recommendations on hate crime legislation in Scotland. Where permission to do so has been given, we will make responses available to the public on the citizen space consultation page. I expect to publish my report and recommendations in early 2018.

Hate Crime Legislation Review

This independent review was announced on 26 January 2017 by Annabelle Ewing, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs. The review is chaired by Lord Bracadale, a senior member of the judiciary.

The remit for this review is:

To consider whether existing hate crime law represent the most effective approach for the justice system to deal with criminal conduct motivated by hatred, malice, ill-will or prejudice.

In particular, Lord Bracadale will consider and provide recommendations on:

Whether the current mix of statutory aggravations, common law powers and specific hate crime offences is the most appropriate criminal law approach to take

Whether the scope of existing laws should be adjusted, including whether the religious statutory aggravation should be adjusted to reflect further aspects of religiously motivated offending

Whether new categories of hate crime should be created for characteristics such as age and gender (which are not currently covered)

Whether existing legislation can be simplified, rationalised and harmonised in any way, such as through the introduction of a single consolidated hate crime act

How any identified gaps, anomalies and inconsistencies can be addressed in a new legislative framework, ensuring this interacts effectively with other legislation guaranteeing human rights and equality